Every Rose Has Its Thorns
by SnarkyShinx
Summary: Every rose has its thorns and every cat has their secrets. A reddish colored kit is found on the border of PineClan, bearing the scent of SwiftClan. After much consideration, the kit is dubbed a member of PineClan. But the kitten holds a secret; one that apprentices Gustpaw and Archpaw intend to find out. What is the true identity of the rose-eyed bundle of innocence?
1. Prologue and Allegiances

**'Allo! SnarkyShinx here with a new story! Besides the point of dragging on the intro, Snarky supposes you want to read the actual story. Well, here you go! Enjoy!**

A chilling breeze settled over the moors with a wispy moan, falling stagnant again as the faint noises ceased. Silence fell over the rolling slopes, nothing- not even the low chatter of birds or the subtle squeaks of prey stirred over the moor. Crystalline stars flickered above, the only other source of illuminating light other than the pale glow of the moon.

Abruptly breaking the sacred silence came a bout of heavy breathing, an out of breath feline figure struggling to run as fast as possible, quickly losing energy to continue the same pace.

Her figure was barely seen by the ambiance lighting, proving the perfect night for an escape. Her reddish fur was hardly seen, making it look almost black in the darkness. Her energy was fading fast, she wouldn't be able to run any further in mere minutes. Further ahead, her unusually colored crimson optics landed on the silhouette of the edge of the trees.

Her tiny, cream colored paws thundered against the moor, each breath she exhaled becoming tighter in her chest. It wouldn't be long before her legs gave out completely. With a sudden jolt in her chest, the tiny kit toppled over on the wind blown grass, landing on her side with a gasp of pain. Breathing heavily, the kit's flanks rose and fell with a sudden increase of speed.

Laying there- completely still other than her quickly moving flanks, the tiny kit thought about calling for her mother, her father or her brothers...but she couldn't. Not because she couldn't call out, she simply refused to.

Eventually, each swift breath began to slow down until each inhale was a shaky breath courtesy of the frosty night air. A spurt of wind came out from the stagnant air, sweeping through the kit's thin reddish coat, chilling to the bone. She again released a shuddering breath, the thought of her dieing her becoming clearer in her mind. Her eyelids gently shut over crimson optics, slowly allowing death to come and take her without a struggle. A series of past conversations flashed in her mind.

"_Ah, welcome to SwiftClan. I trust your journey was well?"_

"_Conjoin you say? That can be arranged."_

"_We'll be the strongest of the four Clans!"_

"_Then it's settled. My daughter and your son shall be the bond tying our groups together."_

"Little one, do not worry," rumbled a soft voice that broke away the flashbacks, a warm embrace now wrapped around the reddish feline's shivering figure. Blinking open her eyes, the kit saw a ghostly white tom with an aura of shining white light. The tom stared her down with large, round blue eyes. "Help has come to your aid."

The white tom left her side for a brief moment, though the cold never returned. He nudged the kit to her paws, surrendering some of his light for the tiny feline as she used it for strength. Both began their slow trek along the moor, the kit's paws treading softly on the earth while the white tom's seemingly never touched, as if he were floating. The edge of the trees suddenly came upon them, the darkness of the undergrowth blinded by the white feline's aura.

"Gustpaw, get back here!" shouted a voice- obviously a she-cat's by tone alone.

At the sudden noise, the kit shrank against the white tom for comfort, finding warmth among his fluffy coat. The light increased and in came an answering, "I just wanna look, Robinflight! There's this weird light up ahead!"

As the undergrowth foliage rustled, the white tom smiled down at the kit. "Until again, little one," he meowed softly before fading, the light vanishing with him. The light from the tom remained for a second longer- long enough for a blue head to poke out from the brush and spot a tiny reddish kitten who was now shivering.

"Robinflight hurry!" screeched the voice belonging to the yellow eyed blue tom, approaching the kit with brisk steps. A moment later a pale brown she-cat followed in pursuit, her eyes shadowed with surprise as her bright green eyes landed on the kit.

Suddenly, the kit was wrapped in a similar embrace from the she-cat as she softly murmured and licked its head. The she-cat paused and looked at the smaller feline of blue fur. "Go fetch the rest of the patrol, now!"

The blue marbled tom sped off with fear flashing in his bright yellow eyes, the bushes rustling as the apprentice made his escape. When he disappeared, Robinflight went back to soothing the kit with comforting licks. "Poor thing," she muttered. "You're chilled to the bone and look half starved. Who in their right mind would leave a kit out here? Especially with leaf-fall on the rise." She sniffed the kit's pelt, followed by an irritated growl. "SwiftClan."

Despite her being from another Clan, Robinflight wrapped her tail around the SwiftClan kit, following rule twelve in the warrior code; no warrior may neglect a kit in pain or danger, even if that kit is from a different Clan. Besides, this kit was obviously shivering and in need of food. The PineClan warrior wasn't about to abandon the poor scrap of fur with mothering instincts taking over.

"Do you have a name, young one?" she asked, liking the kits head.

"Rosekit," answered the reddish kitten with a shuddering breath.

Robinflight smiled, holding the kit closer. "Fitting name for someone with your pelt color." The she-cat purred at her own joke, falling into relief as her apprentice returned with the rest of the patrol; an ivory tom with dark amber eyes and a frayed tail and his apprentice- a dark orange tom with dark brown eyes.

"A kit?" the ivory warrior scoffed. "You had Gustpaw drag us down for this? This pathetic waste of fur?" He bent down to sniff it and instantly recoiled, hissing. "And it reeks of SwiftClan! Do you know how much trouble we'll be in if we keep this kit?!"

"Obviously SwiftClan doesn't want it if they've neglected to feed it, Clawtail," Robinflight countered cooly. "She's half starved and near freezing to death. We've got to get her back to camp."

"I still say we should leave it for the foxes," Clawtail muttered in annoyance, but Robinflight growled, "Have you forgotten the code? Warriors don't neglect kits. We'll take her to Hazelstar."

The ivory pelted warrior grunted in response, motioning for his apprentice to follow back through the undergrowth towards camp. Robinflight lifted the kit by her scruff, quickly answered with a few small whines. "It's ok, Rosekit," the she-cat mewed softly through fur. "We're taking you to PineClan's camp where you can eat and rest up."

Rosekit fell silent at the she-cat's soothing tone, feeling safe wrapped in her embrace. Her eyelids closed out of fatigue, releasing a yawn before the swaying motions carried her to a much needed sleep.

**PineClan**

Leader: Hazelstar - fluffy pale brown tabby tom; intelligent and wise amber eyes

Deputy: Clawtail - ivory tom with a frayed tail; dark amber optics

Apprentice: Archpaw

Medicine Cat: Fireleaf - bright ginger and white she-cat; aged green eyes

Warriors -

Feathersky - silver tabby she-cat; long whiskers and blue eyes

Apprentice: Rosepaw

Finchfeather - tawny tom with tiny black dots; common amberish eyes

Moonfur - plump black she-cat with white chest and paws; blue eyes

Pinestep - russet brown tom; blue almost gray eyes

Slatepelt - solid gray tom; misty blue-gray eyes

Mistbird - pale gray she-cat; darker gray paws and calm yellow eyes

Batwing - dusky brown tom; black patches and wide golden eyes

Bravepath - ginger tom with black paws

Greeneyes - pretty brown tabby she-cat; vibrant green eyes

Robinflight - pale brown she-cat; white paws, underbelly, tail tip

Apprentice: Gustpaw

Beeflower - dull tawny she-cat with bold black stripes; green eyes

Apprentice: Dimpaw

Rockheart - fluffy tom coated with various shades of gray; blue eyes rimmed with green

Cometblaze - russet brown tom; blazing blue eyes

Frozencry - wiry white she-cat with pale gray leopard like spots

Stormfall - dark gray almost black tom; pale green eyes

Fallensnow - white tom with ginger spots

Shorttail - short haired lithe black she-cat with a bobtail

Apprentice: Whitepaw

Apprentices -

Archpaw - dark orange tom, black paws; cocoa brown eyes

Rosepaw - reddish she-cat with cream colored paws; rose red optics

Gustpaw - fluffy blue marbled tom; bright yellow eyes

Dimpaw - dull tawny tom with gray stripes; blue-gray eyes

Whitepaw - tom with messy white fur speckled with silver dots; dark golden eyes

Queens -

Floralhaze - silver tabby she-cat with jet black stripes; mother to Stormfall's kits Sleetkit - dark blue-gray tom and Hailkit - silver-gray tom

Tansyleaf - ginger and gray she-cat; green eyes

Raindance - blue she-cat; blue-green eyes; expecting Brazenheart's kits

Elders -

Ratfang - black and brown mottled tom with a protruding tooth; bears several scars from rat invasion

Graydawn - light cinder colored she-cat with warm amber eyes

Ravenheart - sleek black tom with gray muzzle and toes; mysterious purple eyes

**SwiftClan**

Leader: Ashenstar - dark gray tom with lighter chest and underbelly; slender and powerful physique with golden eyes

Apprentice: Cardinalpaw

Deputy: Cinderfrost - silvery-gray she-cat with black paws; ice blue eyes

Medicine Cat: Flickerfly - bright russet she-cat with white paws; pale green eyes

Warriors -

Hawkswoop - dark brown tom with white underbelly that follows down through legs; ice blue eyes

Apprentice: Sandypaw

Blazewind - ginger tom; amber eyes

Leopardspot - pale tawny she-cat with black spots

Heathertuft - extremely pale gray she-cat and white chest; bluish eyes

Harespring - thin wiry white tom with brown patches

Nightstrike - tall black tom with one white paw; golden eyes

Apprentice: Feralpaw

Oakstripe - oak brown tom with white patches

Sunpetal - white she-cat with bright yellow dapples

Falcondive - tom with messy gray fur; amber-orange eyes

Bluerose - fluffy blue she-cat; dark blue eyes

Doveleap - white she-cat with silver stripes

Tigerflame - flame colored tabby tom with black stripes; yellow eyes

Fleetfoot - gray tom with darker leopard spots

Apprentice: Firpaw

Strongclaw - muscular white tom with golden dapples; dark amber eyes

Apprentices -

Cardinalpaw - bright ginger tabby tom; vivid green eyes

Sandypaw - pale sandy she-cat with darker stripes; pale green eyes

Feralpaw - dark gray almost black tom; golden eyes

Firpaw - fluffy smoky gray she-cat; moss green eyes

Queens -

Quailspot - pale gray and silver dappled she-cat; mother to Blazewind's kits Chesnutkit - reddish brown tom, and Seedkit - tawny tom with black dots

Plumwillow - plump rose cream she-cat; expecting Hawkswoop's kits

Tawnyfeather - calico she-cat; expecting Hawkswoop's kits

Elders -

Ashface - scarred old ashen gray tom with claw marks slicing down the left side of his face; Ashenstar's father

**MistClan**

Leader: Pikestar - scrawny old brown tabby with missing patches of fur; aged green eyes

Deputy: Yarrowflight - brazen yellow tabby she-cat; bright amber eyes

Medicine Cat: Carpfin - orangish tom; blue eyes

Apprentice: Ivypaw

Warriors -

Frogjump - black tom with a white paw; sharp green eyes

Snowbird - pure white she-cat

Leafwater - ginger dappled white she-cat

Lionfish - large orange tabby tom; amber eyes

Bigtail - muscular dark brown tabby with jet black stripes and an extremely fluffy tail; ice blue eyes

Apprentice: Icepaw

Mousewhisper - dusky brown she-cat with long whiskers and white paws; soft amber eyes

Lizardstrike - green eyed mottled brown tom

Lillypool - beautiful pale brown she-cat with black patches and white paws; green eyes

Apprentice: Smallpaw

Shadowsneak - lithe black tom

Apprentice: Magpiepaw

Suntalon - yellowish tom, white muzzle, paws and underbelly; amber eyes

Craneflight - long haired blue-gray tom; sea blue eyes

Apprentice: Heronpaw

Gingerwind - ginger tabby she-cat

Apprentice Hollowpaw

Ivorytooth - large gray tom with a long white protruding tooth; dark amber eyes

Brazenheart - dark ginger tom with pale tabby stripes

Apprentice: Mudpaw

Apprentices -

Ivypaw - black she-cat with silver patches; green eyes

Icepaw - sleek white tom; ice blue eyes

Smallpaw - pale gray she-cat of tiny size; dark blue eyes

Magpiepaw - white tom with larger spattered patches of black; bright yellow eyes

Heronpaw - sleek black she-cat; moss green eyes

Hollowpaw - fluffy black-gray tom; pale amber eyes

Mudpaw - brown tom with black stripes

Queens -

Swanpath - pretty pure white she-cat; mother to Frogjump's kits Frondkit - fluffy gray she-cat with darker flecks; blue eyes and Fernkit - fluffy gray she-cat with darker flecks; green eyes

Cloudysun - ivory furred she-cat with warm yellow eyes; mother to Suntalon's kit Sunkit - yellow tabby she-cat with bright amber eyes

Elders -

Stillwater - mute silver she-cat who had lost her voice breathing in smoke

Burntail - russet tom with more than half his tail missing in the fire

**The Order** - a band of rogues in the city close to SwiftClan's territory

Leader: Sword - dull ginger tom with white paws

Deputy: Spear - slate ginger tom with black patches; Sword's son

**Elite Four** - highly trained elite class of Sword's personal guard

Number One - black and brown mottled tom; piercing green eyes

Number Two - light blue she-cat; pale golden eyes

Number Three - fluffy white she-cat; hazel colored eyes

Number Four - tawny tom with black leopard spots; emotionless amber eyes

**Snarky feels tired. Writing so many character descriptions. Snarky will probably be taking a nap. Afterwards, she will think about updating a new chapter. Depends on her mood and your reviews.**

**Remember, reviews are always appreciated!**

**Au Revoir!**


	2. Chapter One: The New Arrival

**'Allo! Snarky here with a new update! Snarky supposes you all are bored of the same intro. Snarky promises to be more creative but for now just live with it. Oh, and Snarky supposes you want to meet Chaotic Blue and White Fog! My tiny little dragon companions. Otherwise known as The Crew.**

**White Fog: Snarky does not- nor will she ever own Warriors. That right goes to Erin Hunter.**

**Chaotic Blue: In other words, Snarky owns nothing. She doesn't even own her brain.**

**White Fog: That's right. It's a rental.**

**Enough of that! Snarky thinks it's story time. Allons-y!**

Chapter One - The New Arrival

"Rosepaw! Rosepaw! Rosepaw!"

PineClan's concealed camp filled with a sudden increase in cheering for their newest arrival; a former SwiftClan apprentice now known as Rosepaw. Despite her being from another Clan, Hazelstar welcomed her after she had informed him she had left on her own terms- saying that SwiftClan wouldn't want her back anyways. When he questioned why, Rosepaw had insisted it wasn't important as long as she was an apprentice of PineClan. So the fluffy brown tabby tom had dismissed it, allowing the former SwiftClan apprentice to join under the mentorship of a silver tabby; Feathersky.

"Congratulations," smiled a blue marbled tom, approaching the newest apprentice with warmth in his yellow optics.

"Thanks, Gustpaw?" Rosepaw was still figuring out names, hoping she had gotten his right. When he nodded, she felt rather proud of herself.

"Welcome to the ranks of PineClan," Gustpaw added, sitting down beside her and extending his tail to the clearing that was- along with the rest of the camp, carefully hid from predators by a thick barrier of undergrowth and plenty of brambles.

"Figures you'd be the first to move in on a she-cat," sneered a dark orange tom with cocoa brown eyes as he padded past.

"Oh go choke on a mouse bone!" retorted Gustpaw with a snort, rolling his eyes. He turned his gaze back to Rosepaw after she questioned, "What's me being a she-cat have to do with anything?"

"Well just look around," Gustpaw shrugged, gesturing to the camp with a sweep of his tail. "Dimpaw, Whitepaw, Archpaw, and myself are all toms. Since Mistbird, Feathersky and Beeflower became warriors, we haven't had a she-cat apprentice. Nor will we since Floralhaze's kits are both toms. And with you coming out of nowhere, you can see the near awkwardness with a she-cat apprentice among us. Don't take it personally if you get weird looks."

Rosepaw blinked, her crimson gaze showing brief confusion but she nodded anyhow. "So who was the orange tom then? Dimpaw?"

"Archpaw," Gustpaw chuckled. "You shouldn't worry about him too much, usually I find it best to ignore him. He's normally an ill tempered mouse brain with little training. Dimpaw's the tawny tom over with Beeflower and Whitepaw's over next to Fireleaf- our medicine cat."

"And that's Clawtail and Hazelstar," Rosepaw announced, flicking her tail over to the ivory tom with a frayed tail and his companion- the fluffy brown tabby tom who led PineClan.

"Very good," Gustpaw praised. "I don't suppose you know your mentor yet?"

"Feathersky," answered Rosepaw, her crimson gaze scanning the mobbing of felines. She smiled after spotting a familiar silver tabby pelt. "That's her." The blue marbled apprentice nodded, pleased with how well she was familiarizing herself with new names.

Gustpaw rose to his paws, fluffy tail swishing against the earth as he waved for Rosepaw to so the same. Without the use of words, the more experienced apprentice took the lead towards a dug out hole under the shelter of a sturdy tree trunk and its roots; filled with moss nests and large enough to house felines with that particular amount of nests.

"This is the warriors' den," he meowed, proving his point as a plump black she-cat white a white chest and paws quickly exited, nodding a greeting to the apprentice.

"Good day, Gustpaw," the she-cat dipped her head, the yellow eyed apprentice returning the gesture.

"Good day, Moonfur. You know, you really should think about moving into the nursery," he added, noting the bulge of the she-cat's stomach.

"Not you too!" groaned Moonfur. "You sound like Pinestep! He's been going on this past moon how I should stop being a warrior and settle down with the other queens!"

Gustpaw shrugged, "It's not like its a bad thing. You'd only be hurting yourself if you keep this up. Besides, don't you want to live a few moons luxury? Apprentices feed you, you don't have to hunt of patrol...sounds great to be a she-cat."

"Jealous?" teased Rosepaw, nudging his shoulder playfully. The blue marbled tom snorted, pushing her back with an arrogant, "Not in this lifetime."

Moonfur had released a content grin, amused by their antics. Rosepaw hadn't been in camp for more than a day and she was already making friends and waltzing around like she owned the place. The black she-cat again dipped her head before padding off, halting on front of a russet brown tom who looked equally pleased to see her.

"I assume that's Pinestep?" Rosepaw's ears perked in interest, gaze following the she-cat as she met with the tom. As before, Gustpaw answered her with a nod and began walking ahead to another dug out shelter- smaller than the warriors' den though.

"And this is where you'll sleep," he meowed, flicking his tail where the den was lined with ferns. "This is the apprentices' den. Archpaw, are you sleeping in there?!" his voice increased into a near yowl, causing several cats to look at them for a brief moment before ignoring it. From the fern lined den emerged the dark orange tom, pelt bristled and brown eyes blazing. The moment he stepped foot out, the tom's claws were unsheathed.

"You wanna go, fox breath?" Archpaw dared with a threatening hissing sound, leaning forward with bared fangs.

"Mouse brain," Gustpaw retorted in surprisingly level voice. "You don't use claws unless in a real battle and besides, you're going to get us in trouble again for starting a ruckus in the clearing."

"You're just a mouse hearted coward!" spat Archpaw, a smirk crossing his features. "You're too weak to face me! I'm the deputy's apprentice! I'm more powerful than-"

His sentence was cut short as Gustpaw had harshly bopped him on the head, the dark orange tom recoiling in surprise, hissing in numb pain. Gustpaw only looked annoyed but flashed a smile towards Rosepaw. "That's how it's done."

"Great StarClan, are you ok Archpaw?" Rosepaw gasped in horror, rushing to the orange tom's side, quickly looking at the injured spot.

"Fox dung!" the apprentice spat in rage, rubbing his now sore cranium. "I'm ok, if that mouse hearted coward would strike me fairly!"

"You weren't paying attention, I had every right to strike you," protested Gustpaw with a flat tone, tail swishing with much contained irritation. His ears twitched as a pale brown she-cat called his name. "I'll have to tour the camp with you later, Rosepaw," he apologized. "Robinflight says it's time for training. Excuse my absence until I return."

With that, the blue marbled tom sped off where awaited his mentor by the bramble barrier, eager to set out for their training session. Gustpaw's yellow optics locked with Rosepaw's for a second, flashing her an apologetic stare before taking off and disappearing through the thorns and leaves.

"I don't get it," Archpaw's voice brought Rosepaw back into reality. "I've got the better mentor and he still can beat me in a fight- whether it be fair or unfair. I can barely land one swing without him knocking me back as if I were a kit."

"It's ok," Rosepaw smiled, resting her tail on his shoulder. "Everyone gets beat sometimes. The trick is to never give up. I'm sure you can beat Gustpaw someday- if you keep trying that is. Just do your best."

The orange tom looked at her with confusion in his brown optics, almost smiling before snorting, "Just something a she-cat would say." With an irritated huff, Archpaw shook away the comforting tail on his shoulder, now refusing to even look at the newest arrival.

Rosepaw only allowed her gaze to float towards her paws. She was used to being on the receiving end of a cold shoulder. Her siblings wouldn't pay any attention to her- neither would her father. She openly released a sigh, knowing life here would be no different other than the fact she had no family to turn to in a crisis matter. She was alone.

Even with his back turned, Archpaw could feel the distress and abandonment the she-cat was giving off. It was true- he usually gave everyone a bitter attitude or a warning slash to the ears but around the reddish feline, he couldn't help but feel the rage inside him settle to a low bubble. Without looking at her, he let out a weak growl, "Look, since good for nothing mousebreath isn't here, and you're alone...I guess I'll finish the tour of the camp."

Rosepaw's ears perked, her features creased into a large grin. "Thank you! I really don't know how to make it up."

"You don't have to do anything," replied the somber voice of the orange apprentice, rising to his paws. "Now come on." He began padding at a brisk pace towards another dug out shelter, heavily scented with milk and laced with brambles and ferns for security.

Rosepaw nodded and followed at his heels, intently listening to the descriptions Archpaw provided her with before taking leave and moving on to the next area of camp. Perhaps life in PineClan wouldn't be terrible after all.

**Finally! I don't know why but that chapter took forever to write! Stupid exposition...Snarky wants the plot twist! Plot twist! Ooops...was Snarky not supposed to say that? Well it doesn't matter anyways. Plot twist or not, you people don't know what the amazing SnarkyShinx has planned...Read on to find out!**

**Au Revoir!**


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